D810 or D500 for Wedding Photography

Willekim

New member
Hello! I'm new to the forum but thought I'd pose the question. I currently shoot with a D610 and have never owned a crop sensor camera, but I LOVE the specs and features of the D500, that burst rate is phenomenal! I shoot Weddings and Portraits and what attracts me to the D500 is the low noise ISO performance, although the D810 is no slouch either...

But there are also so many positives about the D810 (minus the inevitably slow workflow from the huge files) and it would keep me in the full frame family. The pro's of this are not having to take into account the crop factor of the D500 whilst dual wielding, but on the other hand, that 1.5x crop factor could also give me some extra reach.
I occasionally shoot wildlife for fun, but rarely sports, and i know the D500 is aimed at these photographers, but I've also spoken to Wedding Photographers who absolutely love it and it's super quick AF system. One Wedding tog swears by it and pairs it with their D810 on shoots. If only i could afford both!

I love the idea of buying a D500, but people swear that the D810 is the best portrait and wedding camera they've ever used.

I'm hoping the successor to the D810 will be announced soon as this will hopefully incur a price drop, but in the meantime...

Any advice?
 

Willekim

New member
You might want to look at the D750. Low light low noise high ISO performance is fantastic

Nikon D750 vs D810 - Our Analysis

Thanks for your reply. I had previously considered the D750 but the megapixels drew me to the D810, I feel with the D810 I'd get something new which I couldn't achieve with my current setup. Even though the D750 is a fantastic camera and many use it for Weddings, I want an upgrade to a more Pro body, so that's why my choice came down to the D810 and D750.
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
Thanks for your reply. I had previously considered the D750 but the megapixels drew me to the D810, I feel with the D810 I'd get something new which I couldn't achieve with my current setup. Even though the D750 is a fantastic camera and many use it for Weddings, I want an upgrade to a more Pro body, so that's why my choice came down to the D810 and D750.

If you can get your hands on both the D750 and D810 as rentals, I strongly recommend that.

There is no question the D750 has the reputation as the master wedding body, and anecdotally seems to have led to more Canon shooters switching over to Nikon than any other body. Since you already shoot a D610, that migration is a no brainer, with no significant muscle memory re-training needed.

That said, I went with the D810 myself and other than having to re-kit with some CF cards, couldn't be happier. For weddings, I'm very impressed at how much quieter the shutter is on the D810, compared to the D7100 or D610. I didn't shoot the D750 for a wedding, so can't compare shutter noise there, but in taking the D750 for a few hour walk through downtown I did find the D750's more narrow grip (compared to the D810/D610/D7100) to not be as comfortable for my hand. Carrying the camera for 7+ hours at a wedding, this weighed (no pun intended) heavily in my decision.
 

singlerosa_RIP

Senior Member
My $.02 is... according to your profile, you don't own a fast 24-70. Unless you have an unlimited budget, I'd suggest a 750 and better glass. Keep the 610 and you'll have a similar layout on both bodies. I've shot the D500 and it's awesome. But IMO, it's not a portrait or wedding camera. I use a D7200 for reach and can't justify getting a 500 just for the buffer and fps, plus I'd have to deal with the aggravation of the "pro" controls. :)
 
Top